


Dungeon x Hunter

by sub_divided



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: College AU, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Fluff, I made up some rules bc I hate research, M/M, More about Killugon than Leopika but they get a chapter to themselves further down the line, Nothing Bad Happens AU, Sugar, You Get the Idea :P, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:41:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22808821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sub_divided/pseuds/sub_divided
Summary: Every Sunday Killua, Gon, Leorio and Kurapika meet up to play "Dungeon x Hunter" (loosely based on DnD 5e) with Leorio as Dungeon Master.  Why is Leorio the DM, you ask?  Well, these nerds all met at the college roleplaying club two years ago, but recently, with Kurapika in law school and Leorio in med school, and Killua and Gon taking harder undergrad classes, no one has time to meet up anymore.  Therefore, Leorio has taken it upon himself to DM their sessions, just as an excuse to get everyone together once a week.Alluka, also a college student, is staying with Killua during the Christmas Break.  Having heard about these Sunday roleplaying sessions from Killua, and especially about the antics of a chaotic multiclass druid/barbarian who keeps adopting all the animals (Gon duh), she asks if she can come along.  The crew welcome Alluka into the nerd fold as romance gradually blossoms between Gon and Killua, and Leorio fights to keep Kurapika from ghosting them all as a stress response to lawschool deadlines.Basically a heartwarming slice of life story about nerds playing Dungeons and Dragons.  I'll be updating Wednesdays and Sundays until all the chapters are posted.
Relationships: Gon Freecs & Kurapika & Leorio Paladiknight & Alluka Zoldyck & Killua Zoldyck, Gon Freecs/Killua Zoldyck, Kurapika/Leorio Paladiknight
Comments: 33
Kudos: 86





	1. Alluka

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a friend who, years ago, observed that Kurapika is the ultimate DnD rules lawyer - finding every loophole in the book to max out all his character stats :P (Note this was before we knew about Emperor time!) I've had the idea since then to write an AU where the whole crew are (mostly) normal people roleplaying their characters from Hunter x Hunter, but held off because I'm a fake nerd and I don't actually know much about DnD. But do we let that stop us? Hell no!!!

“Hey, brother?”

“Mpfh?” Killua took a moment to chew and swallow the chocolate bar he’d crammed into his mouth when he’d realized it wouldn’t fit in his bag, already full with his dice bag and some other snacks for Dungeons night. 

“Yeah, sis?”

“Do you think…” Alluka looked hesitant and fumbled with the beaded hem of her top. Killua just waited patiently, like the #1 best older brother of the year that he was. 

“Do you think I could… come with you?” Alluka asked. “I mean,” she said quickly, “I wouldn’t interrupt your game or anything like that. It’s just that you’re always talking about your college friends, Gon and the rest of them, and I’m kind of curious what they’re like. I’ll bring a tablet and work on my school stuff while you guys play, you won’t even know I’m there.”

 _Gon and the rest of them?_ Was Killua really that obvious? But more importantly…

Killua grinned. “Hell yeah you can come!” he said. “Honestly I was wondering when you would ask.” 

***

Gon, Kurapika and Leorio were arguing about pizza toppings when they came in. Gon wanted five different kinds of vegetables, Leorio wanted pepperoni and Kurapika wanted plain. Eventually they settled for one plain, and one half pepperoni/half veggie and placed the order. 

“Guys, this is Alluka!” Killua introduced her. “She’s the best little sister ever. She wants to play with us.”

“That’s not…”

“Cool!” Gon said. “We could use another player, that would make the dungeons so much easier!”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alluka,” Kurapika said. “Killua talks about you often.”

“Only because she’s the greatest sister ever….”

“I hope you’re less nitpicky than these guys,” Leorio interrupted. “You try to give everyone a good time, but everyone’s a critic these days.”

“I only 'nitpick’ when you’ve missed something in the rulebook,” Kurapika pointed out. “Games are more fun when they have clearly defined rules.”

“Rules are just guidelines,” Leorio said. “My mind is too great to be enslaved by minor details.” 

“Minor details like whether you’d used up your healing spell slots or not…”

“Exactly, minor details.”

“You’ll fit in great,” Gon told her. “We’re really happy you came.”

***

They cleared a space on the dining room table for the game mat and dice box. When the pizzas came, they went on the kitchen counter and everyone helped themselves using the cardboard pizza box lids as plates. Leorio took the opportunity to complain about his med school roommate, who was out, and his stoner roommate, who was holed up in his room, hoarding all the dishes and never putting them away. It was up to the long-suffering Leorio to knock on their doors once a month, and rescue the cutlery. 

Alluka just listened, fascinated, as Leorio elaborated on the many failings of his roommates. The med school roommate was a plate-stealing ghost who drank all the booze, and the other roommate didn't seem to do anything to support himself. Leorio had a theory that his parents were loaded - that or he was some kind of instagram weed influencer. He was constantly getting packages addressed to “S. Green Thumb” delivered to the small apartment the three of them shared. He’d never appeared to have any kind of real job, according to Leorio. 

Despite Leorio’s complaints about his roommates, the common areas of the apartment were clean, if slightly worn down. It was an older house, with high ceilings and crown molding. All the furniture looked like it had been rescued off the streets, apart from a built-in china cabinet in the dining room that seemed original to the house. Still, the house itself was spacious and had probably seen better days. The dining room table was nice and seated the five of them comfortably, with Leorio at the head, Gon at the foot, Killua and Alluka on one side and Kurapika on the other. 

“So, Alluka, what kind of character were you thinking about?” Kurapika asked, once they’d settled in with their pizza. “We’ll start you at a higher level so you can keep up with us, so don’t worry about that part. Did you have any ideas?”

“I’m not sure… what kinds of characters do you guys have?”

“Gon’s a barbarian and a druid,” Killua told her, “Because he couldn’t decide between punching stuff and saving animals.”

“Eh heh, it’s true,” Gon said. “And actually lately I was thinking of adding another class too…. If that’s okay with you guys?”

“Three classes is messy even for you,” Killua told him. “But follow your heart, dude.”

“It’ll take a lot longer to level up your abilities if you add another class,” Kurapika observed. “You’ll be less effective in battle, and it will be complicated to track all of the power ups. Plus I’m not sure whether three classes is even allowed.”

“I know it’s a lot, but I’ve been taking this martial arts class recently and it’s really fun, so I thought I could work it into the game somehow! I joined a club for it too.”

“Oh word?” Killua said. “What style?”

“It’s a Korean style called Akido… it’s really cool. The people at the club are really nice and I really enjoy it! It’s kind of like meditation and gymnastics put together. Anyway I think it’d be cool to be a monk and learn like ki attacks and stuff.”

“If you don’t care about the damage… Leorio?”

“Eh?” Leorio looked up from his pizza. After pushing for pepperoni, he’d actually eaten more of the plain pizza. But since they had plenty, Kurapika hadn’t said anything about it. 

“You’re the DM,” Kurapika told him. “Can Gon be a monk-barbarian-druid?” 

“I don’t see why not,” Leorio said. “As long as he doesn’t care how long it’ll take to gain spell levels split between three classes.” Kurapika rolled his eyes, he'd said the exactly the same thing. Leorio had been too busy stuffing his face to notice... Kurapika slid the plain pizza box across the table, out of the range of temptation. Because Leorio's arms were long, he erred on the side of caution and the pizza ended up about four feet away, in front of Gon who politely brought it back to the kitchen. 

“That’s what I told Gon,” Kurapika said. 

“Yeah sure why not… is it allowed in the rules, though?”

“Not in the edition we’re playing, but some other editions allow it. But I thought you said rules are for small minds?” Kurapika teased. 

“That’s right, I did!” Leorio puffed out his chest. “Go for it, Gon.” 

“Yay!” Gon cheered from the kitchen. 

“So yeah Alluka,” Gon said, returning to his seat and turning to her. “Don’t worry too much about trying to decide a class. You can be all of them!”

***

“Although Gon’s mostly right,” Kurapika told her, “Since you’re a beginner it would probably be better to keep things simple for now and stick with just one class. Barbarian is a good class for a beginner, or monk. The attacks are pretty simple to keep track of.”

“What are you?” Alluka asked, curious. 

“Kurapika is a wizard,” Killua told her, “Because he wanted to be a nerd in the game, too.”

“I’m a wizard because my character appreciates the scholarly pursuits, yes,” Kurapika said archly. “But also because Blue Bolt is the strongest attack in the game, especially if you combine it with the regeneracy stone which lifts the spellcasting limit. That combo is broken in my opinion. Also, with the right demonic familiar you can reach 100% in every stat temporarily… none of the other classes even come close to that kind of power.”

“Kurapika likes to look at the stats and maximize,” Killua explained. “But you don’t have to play that way if you don’t want to. You can just play for fun.” 

“What about you, brother?”

“I’m a rogue,” Killua said. “The coolest class.”

“He’s downplaying it,” Leorio told her. “Ask him about his character’s backstory sometime, it’s really elaborate… he has this whole thing about being the heir to an assassin school, stealing the secret scroll and running away… being chased by the school head, who's also his father… and his older brother is an evil warlock… he’s got his character’s backstory completely thought out. He pretends he’s not a nerd but he can nerd out with the best of us.”

“Really, brother?” It reminded her of their actual family life, though filtered in a way that made it seem easier to deal with. As if their problems at home could be solved by running away. Real life wasn’t quite so simple. 

It gave her an idea, though...

“It’s not a big deal,” Killua said. “I just do it to stay interested.” 

“Is there a character class that changes shape?” Alluka asked. “Like in Sailor Moon, where they do the transformation sequences? But maybe fiercer… a kind of character that’s pretty but dangerous. Oh! And I’d like to fly.”

Killua gave her a shoulder bump. He probably knew why she was asking for this. Across the table, Kurapika looked thoughtful. 

“There’s the dragonfolk… They transform sometimes depending on how you play them. Or elves, maybe, though they don’t fly without an item. Those are races though, not classes. There’s a picture of on the front of the rulebook of a dragon-person if you want to take a look.” On the book, a fierce dragon lady had scales framing her hairline and powerful wings coming out of her back. She looked beautiful and dangerous, exactly as Alluka had requested. 

“That’s so cool, thanks… for class, is there one with a secret? Like a secret power they have inside that’s destructive sometimes, but powerful when you channel it the right way.”

Killua gave her shoulder another bump and squeezed her hand under the table; he seemed to know where she was going with this. But if he could put his family background into a game, she could do the same with her body image and mood disorder. 

“You could be a warlock,” Kurapika told her. “Blue Bolt is the best spell in the game if you combine it with the right items, but Dark Bolt is probably the most powerful spell in the game period. Warlocks make pacts with otherworldly creatures for their power, they can’t always control it. Sometimes they go berserk. It's a little chaotic but interesting to play."

“Perfect,” Alluka said. 

***

Leorio and Kurapika walked Alluka through the character creation process, having her download a character creator app for her phone. While they helped her, Gon filled Killua in on his Akido class that met at the campus gym twice a week and convinced him to sign up for a sparring session together. 

They were technically enrolled in different schools, Alluka knew… Gon was a physical therapy major and Killua was in a more traditional LSA (Literature, Sciences and Arts) program but hadn’t decided a major yet. But the two schools shared a campus and most of the facilities, so they met from time to time. 

They were about three months into their current campaign, against the Dragon People of Ankora. It was usually just the four of them at these sessions, an outgrowth from when they’d first met at the campus roleplaying club when Gon and Killua had been freshmen; Kurapika had been a Senior; and Leorio had been a Super Senior. 

After Kurapika and Leorio had graduated, the four of them had lost touch for a while. Everyone was busy - Gon and Killua with classes, Leorio with med school and Kurapika with law school, where he was currently a second year student specializing in indigenous rights. With everyone so busy, it was hard to make time to see each other, and they’d seemed likely to just drift apart. 

That’s when Leorio had had the idea of starting these weekly DungeonXHunter sessions… just as a way to keep the old rolepaying crew together. 

“I might not be the best DM,” he’d told them, “but someone has to do it so it might as well be me!” 

***

“Okay, so you get to the top of the hill,” Leorio said. “And you look down into the valley where the enemy camp is.”

“Where are we standing?" Killua asked. “We don't want to be silhouetted against the setting sun, then we'd basically be targets."

“How do you want to approach this?” Leorio asked. 

“We came from the West... we should circle around to the south or north. Where’s the tree cover?”

“There’s a small copse of trees on the north side of the valley.”

“I say we come in that way,” Killua said. “Objections?”

No one objected, except for the long-suffering Leorio who warned Gon that he’d better stay on task this time, and not start looking for forest animals to adopt.

“Aw, that was just one time!” Gon pouted. 

“It was more than one time, Gon,” Kurapika pointed out. 

“It was only one time when it wasn’t part of the campaign…”

“No objections,” Leorio noted. Half the time his job seemed to be just to move these sessions along and not let the whole party get off track. “We circle around to the north, and observe the enemy camp from under the tree cover. The valley is half a mile wide and about a mile long. In the middle there’s a tower that looks like a watch tower. There’s a signal fire at the top, and two guards looking down, at the camp below.” 

“What’s the distance to the top of the tower?” Killua asked. “I might be able to get the guards with my crossbow. Although, since we’re near the equator, there’s probably an easterly crosswind, especially at night.”

“How do you know these things,” Leorio complained. “Anyway, the tower is in the middle of the valley. It’s half a mile away. That’s…”

“About 800 meters,” Kurapika said. “Out of range from where we are now, but you might be able to hit it if we circled around to the East. It would be just at the edge of your range though.”

“Hmm, Gon do you still have that focus charm?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s a possibility,” Killua concluded. “But I want to know more about the camp first. What’s the tower guarding?”

“If you’d let me finish… ahem. The camp is split into two sections. In the section closer to us, there’s a lot of tents arranged chaotically. It seems that the footsoldiers we’ve been running into are all funneling into camp and setting up their tents however they want. On the other side, there are a few large tents with heavy security out front. It looks like the leadership is staying there. There’s also a cave on the very far side, under heavy guard as well.”

“I say we stay under cover and gather information,” Killua said. “We need to know the guard rotation schedules and how the camp is run before we do anything else.”

“That’s so boring,” Gon complained. “And what if they get more organized while we're waiting? We should do something quickly while they’re still setting up. I wanna try out my new monk-class skills.” 

“My paladin character also wants to rush in,” Leorio noted. “He thinks that you guys take way too long to decide everything. He’s impatient with these losers and wants to bust heads! But he’s willing to take a second opinion.”

“I can cast a scrying spell,” Kurapika offered. “That should give us an idea about the guards without having to wait the whole day. Gon could also send some of his beasts in, or Killua could scope the crowd in disguise. As disorganized as they are right now, it probably won’t be hard to fit in.”

Alluka just listened as the group discussed strategy. She wanted to contribute, but Killua, Gon, Kurapika and Leorio seemed to have a well-established in-game dynamic that didn’t leave a lot of openings for new opinions. She also wasn’t sure yet what her character could do or how she’d be able to help. 

Maybe if I look at my character sheet, I can figure something out? She thought. Overall she was enjoying herself; Killua’s friends were nice and had made her feel welcome right away. They weren’t purposefully leaving her out, just playing the game like they usually did. 

“I could sneak in where the footsoldiers are, sure, but that won’t help us with the bosses,” Killua said. “Leorio, what’s around the big tent?”

“It’s in the middle of an open field. There’s no cover to approach,” Leorio said rotely, as if he was reading from a script. He’d told Alluka that he usually got these campaigns from the internet and delivered them with only a few minor changes - basically claiming he was too busy with med school to write any new scenarios. No one seemed to expect more or mind. 

Maybe I can figure out the campaign and read ahead for next time? Alluka thought; but immediately dismissed the idea. That seemed counter to the spirit of the game. 

“What about the cave?” Kurapika asked. “That seems like the most important thing. They’re probably keeping the treasure and the dragon eggs there. Could we drop in from above?”

“If it’s a deep cave, there should be another entrance or at least an air vent,” Killua said. “Otherwise the air won’t circulate.”

“I can see in the dark?” Alluka offered. “I have a spell for it. And it’s part of my character class. I could check the cave out while you guys create a distraction outside.” 

“That’s not a bad idea actually,” Kurapika said. “Gon, do you want to do the distraction?”

“Why am I always the distraction?” Gon asked rhetorically. 

Everyone else, apart from Alluka, just looked at him. 

“Just kidding! I would LOVE to distract everyone,” he said. 

Killua rolled his eyes. “Just spit it out already,” he told Gon. “We all know you have something in mind.” Next to him, Kurapika and Leorio just nodded. 

“Hehe, you’re so right. So anyway, I want to put on a show! Have Killua and Leorio wear disguises and round people up to see my performance. I bet the footsoldiers are bored, they’re probably dying for entertainment. I’m going to have Bessie and Alex do tricks while I juggle!”

Bessie and Alex were the wyvern and baby griffin Gon had adopted in their last campaign. He also had a giant spider, but Kurapika had firmly requested for Gon to leave that one behind, and so, reluctantly, he’d left it with his elderly grandmother the last time he’d visited their island home. (In their game lore at least. In reality, Gon had a several spiders, a small snake, and a frog in his dorm room.) 

“So yeah, I’ll juggle axes and they’ll fly through, it’ll be an aerial acrobatic show!” Gon concluded. 

“That sounds so fun!” Alluka said. Beside her, Killua just groaned. 

“How is that gonna help, dummy?” he asked. “All you’ll do is cheer up the foot soldiers and raise their morale. The bosses won’t be interested at all and none of the guards will leave their positions.”

“Well yeah, but then Alluka and Kurapika can cast spells to knock over the tower and crush everyone watching the show! We can take out so many people and create a huge distraction at the same time! It’ll be awesome.”

Killua regarded him with something like awe. “You look so innocent, but you’re so ruthless,” he said. 

“Blue bolt and dark bolt cast together probably could knock the tower over,” Kurapika observed. “And I have a wind spell too.”

“I can fly at the tower to knock it over!” Alluka said. “If it’s still teetering after we hit it with the spells, that is.”

“Sounds like a plan, guys,” Leorio said. “Okay, so Gon first… roll for charisma….let’s see how many people want to watch your show.”

***

Later, Killua and Alluka walked back to Killua’s dorm room together. Alluka seemed happy, she was humming a little and making little spiral paths in the snow. 

“Your friends are really nice,” she told Killua. “Thanks for letting me come.”

“Are you kidding? That was the best session in a while. The way the tower came down…”

“And everyone got crushed!” They laughed together. 

“And then your idea to sneak into the cave with me while Gon and Leorio rushed the bosses’ tent and Kurapika did air cover, that was pretty good too. You’re a natural at this.”

“It’s fun to pretend,” she said. “And Gon is funny, I like him a lot.”

“Gon’s the best,” Killua told her. He seemed about to say something else, but settled for ruffling her hair. She harumped at him. 

They passed another low streetlight on the path back through campus. Watch out here, Killua had told her - the lights are so low that they shine in your eyes and create blind spots. You can easily be taken by surprise walking alone, always bring a buddy. Alluka thought he was being too careful; but also that she could see the parts of himself that he poured into his game character. Killua was always so careful; and he never stopped thinking and analyzing. 

“You’ll stick around for another week?” he asked her. “I think Gon wanted to have our next session in the new coffee shop. It’s in an old, converted church, it’s a really cool building.”

“Yeah, I think I can stay,” Alluka said. “School doesn’t start up again until February. Until then, I’m a free woman.”

“Cool,” Killua said. “Cool.”

They walked the rest of the way back to Killua’s dorm in happy silence, footsteps echoing in the snow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to the (super) talented folks in the Killugon zine discord who helped me to brainstorm this, and come up with everyone's play styles. Thank you Davi, Jo, Flat-san, Autumn and Munen! You guys rock! 
> 
> The zine is currently accepting preorders until Feb 29th, you can order it here: https://gumroad.com/milestoneszine. Unlike this story, it's an all-ratings zine so take care when placing the order. 
> 
> Comments appreciated, thank you in advance <3


	2. Bear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the Killugon chapter, folks :P 
> 
> "Killua had wandered into the roleplaying club, his hands in his pockets. He’d had the thought of hanging back, and observing the other people here, to see if they were cool enough to be blessed with his company... or so lame he’d have to ditch them to go back to his dorm room. 
> 
> "(And do what? His brain prompted him. Read true crime novels? Research the laws of physics and rare, space-born diseases for your sci fi horror novel? _Face it, you’re a nerd just like these guys_ , his traitorous brain told him. _You just don’t have friends, like they do, because you're too embarrassed to admit it_. He mentally chastised himself, he’d rather die than appear lame in front of others, no matter how lame he secretly knew himself to be.) "

The renovated church cafe, as promised, was a beautiful spot and quite crowded on a Sunday. In the former nave, where circular tables took the place of pews under colorful stained glass windows, the murmur of everyone’s conversations echoed from the high vaulted ceiling, despite the heavy drapes hung from the walls and ceiling to soak up the noise. 

But in the smaller back room - formerly a vestry - they’d reserved for their game, it was quieter and more private.

This week Kurapika was busy with a case brief and had texted Leorio that he wouldn’t make it. But it was no big deal: with all four of them in school, it was common for someone to miss a game from time to time. In another week, when Kurapika rejoined them, he’d receive the same experience as everyone else and they’d catch him up on what he’d missed. Unless it was finals week or Leorio had a big med school test coming up, they generally didn’t cancel the session. 

Plus, Alluka was with them this week. And she’d been using her vacation time to read up on the game rules, so she’d come prepared to kick some dragon cult butt. They finished up the cave dungeon easily and Gon even made a new friend - a man-eating drake he was going to domesticate with Alluka’s help and an endless supply of fresh meat (long story). 

Then they spent the rest of the time just chatting about their lives over hot chocolate (Killua), drip coffee with a double espresso shot (Leorio) or hot tea (Gon and Alluka) in the main room of the cafe. Killua was proud that his sister was making an effort to be social, and that she got along so well with his friends. But then, his friends were quite friendly, and easy to get along with. 

He wasn’t sure, though, that he liked how close she’d gotten to Gon over the last week. At least not if they were going to team up together against him like this. 

“Killua doesn’t snore,” she was telling him. “But he snorts sometimes in his sleep! Like this,” and she made a few little snuffling sounds, like a cat about to sneeze. That was not accurate, in Killua’s opinion. There was no way he sounded like that. 

“Cute!” Gon said. “We used to keep pigs back home, it reminds me of the little ones when they’d get excited. I wish I could hear it to compare.”

“I do not sound like a pig,” Killua protested. “I sleep silently, like an assassin.”

“I think you’re getting yourself confused with your game character, brother” Alluka said teasingly. “In real life, you’re not silent. It’s cute though, like Gon said.”

“Yeah Killua, the piglets are really cute, it’s a compliment to be compared to them,” Gon added. “Let me show you a photo… they’re so adorable, just like you.” 

“I don’t like this character assassination,” Killua huffed, blushing a bit. He had no idea what to say to the rest of it. Gon had always been pretty free with his compliments but… was he imagining it? Lately  
it felt like he was getting more personal. More intentional. 

And Alluka, as much as he loved her, was definitely encouraging him. 

“I could get you a prescription for something to sleep deeper,” Leorio cut in. “But it does sound harmless.”

Killua buried his head in his hands. He was feeling way too outnumbered right now. _Kurapika come back_ , he thought. I need you on damage control, I can’t handle this. 

***

The next week passed quickly enough. Sometimes Killua wished he’d taken the winter vacation, like Alluka, instead of signing up for accelerated classes over the break. It would have been nice to have had more free time to spend with his sister while she was visiting. He was worried she’d be bored hanging out in his dorm room by herself while he was at classes, or working on assignments, even though she seemed to be entertaining herself just fine. 

But since he still didn’t have a major, he’d felt it would be prudent to get every distribution credit out of the way this year. That way, once he did decide what he wanted to do, he’d be able to cover all the credits in his junior and senior year, and hopefully graduate on time. 

And besides that, if they’d both been on vacation, it was possible they’d have been expected to go home over the break. Neither Killua nor Alluka really wanted that. 

Was it his imagination, though? Gon was only taking one class over the break, a sports therapy class he’d failed the first time around due to an attendance requirement he’d forgotten about (and, probably, the hundreds of after school clubs he’d joined freshman year). He had a lot more free time than Killua and he seemed to be spending an awful lot of it with Alluka while Killua was busy. 

What did they really have to talk about? Gon was an outdoorsy type, he loved hiking, physical fitness, mountain climbing and animals. His sister had always had indoor hobbies, mainly arts and crafts projects and some stuff online that Killua didn’t really understand. 

Sometimes he got the feeling that they were mostly discussing _him_ , but that thought was embarrassing so Killua tried not to dwell on it. 

***

The following Sunday, they were back at Leorio’s. 

“How was your case brief? Did you get a good grade?” Alluka asked Kurapika. He made a dismissive gesture, holding his slice of pizza in his other hand. “Mfph - fine,” he said, swallowing. “Though I think the professor dislikes me.”

“How could anyone dislike our ball of sunshine,” Leorio said, frowning. “Tell me his address, I’ll kick his ass.”

“Her ass,” Kurapika corrected. “And it’s not that serious. We don’t agree on certain legal precedents for rural development cases, that’s all… and I, er, got carried away in class the other day. It was an issue close to my heart.”

“Understable,” Leorio said. Gon and Killua nodded together. Kurapika was a passionate, serious person. That was his charm. And that was especially true for the issues close to his heart. If something triggered Kurapika’s sense of unfairness, he tended not to hold back in his expression of disapproval, even if he made enemies in the process. 

“Anyway, it’s done and that’s the important thing,” Kurapika said. “Now all that’s left are the final exams.” Killua groaned. His finals for his accelerated classes were coming up next week; and the week after that, Alluka would be going back to school. Gon bumped their shoulders together in sympathy and he pushed back gratefully. 

“Okay!” Leorio said. “No more talk about classes - I forbid it! Only nerd stuff for the rest of the night.” 

***

A flashback from last year: 

Killua had wandered into the roleplaying club, his hands in his pockets. He’d had the thought of hanging back, and observing the other people here, to see if they were cool enough to be blessed with his company... or so lame he’d have to ditch them to go back to his dorm room. 

(And do what? His brain prompted him. Read true crime novels? Research the laws of physics and rare, space-born diseases for your sci fi horror novel? _Face it, you’re a nerd just like these guys_ , his traitorous brain told him. _You just don’t have friends, like they do, because you're too embarrassed to admit it_. He mentally chastised himself, he’d rather die than appear lame in front of others, no matter how lame he secretly knew himself to be.) 

“Oh hey, is that a Harley tee? Are you a skater?” someone asked him. Killua shook himself out of his thoughts to look over - the boy who’d interrupted him wore jeans and and a baseball tee - he certainly didn’t look like a nerd. He was toned like an athlete; and tan like he spent most of his time outdoors. 

“Sometimes,” Killua said. “It’s a hobby, yeah. I like to clear my head and challenge myself. What about you? You look like a team player.”

“Oh, I am!” the boy said cheerfully, while Killua berated himself for asking a stranger such a personal question. He didn’t want to come off like the lonely, desperate almost-nerd that he actually was… “I already joined three teams this week! I figure I’ll try them all out and see which one I like the most.”

“That’s kind of weird,” Killua observed. Wait, what? _Why are you insulting people when you're trying to make friends?_ he chided himself. Baseball guy didn’t seem to mind, though. He just cocked his head, “You think? How do you decide what you want to do?”

“I usually weigh out my options and think about what I *dont* want to do,” Killua said. “Then, I choose the option that sounds like the least bad idea.”

“Oh that’s cool, we’re like opposites.” 

What was up with this kid? The conversation had moved to personal topics surprisingly quickly. Killua was relieved, he could do small talk as well as anyone else but he didn't really enjoy it, and he’d been wishing and hoping to make a friend since he’d applied to this college, just far enough away from home that his family would have to give him some space. 

But, Killua wasn’t stupid. He knew that to place the burden of eighteen years of enforced loneliness on someone else he’d just met was too much. Let’s just cool it a little, he told himself. Don’t get your hopes up. He's not your dream friend, you just met him. 

“So you only participate in team sports? Because I mostly keep to myself,” he told the boy. There. Perfect. 

“Oh no, I like lots of solitary things! I actually grew up on a small island, there weren’t any other kids my age there and I spent most of my time by myself. That’s why I’m joining so many clubs now, I wanna play sports and do other stuff I couldn’t do by myself back home.”

“That’s pretty deep,” Killua observed.

“Eh, I guess so… I’m Gon by the way, nice to meet you!”

“Killua, same.” He took a hand from his pocket and extended it to Gon, who shook it enthusiastically. 

Could it be, that he’d made…. A friend? The exact kind of friend he’d been hoping for?

 _Don't get ahead of yourself, stay cool_ Killua reminded himself. But his heart was pounding gladly. 

***

Back in the present, Killua was feeling anxious: their session had started late and he had a lot of homework due on Monday. But, at the same time, he’d been reluctant to call out. This was his main time to spend with his friends and Alluka, especially now that the Akido club was suspended until the end of the break. And truthfully, aside from this group, he didn’t have many - OK, any - other close friends on campus. 

He knew, of course, that he didn’t really need an excuse to hang out - especially not with Gon. They’d hung out together all the time during their freshman year, to the point that they were sometimes referred to collectively. As in, what are GonandKillua doing right now? Do you think GonandKillua would want to come out for bubble tea? I need an extra set of hands to move the furniture out of my dorm room, maybe GonandKillua could help? 

But as they’d both gotten busier - or at least as Killua had gotten busier - and their schedules had aligned less, they’d found that social time needed to be scheduled just like everything else. In a day, a certain number of hours were dedicated to going to class; a certain number were dedicated to doing homework (and Killua, despite his seemingly casual attitude toward school, never skipped the readings); and a certain number were dedicated to going out and having fun. 

All three of those things were important to Killua - and necessary, if he wanted to stay on campus and not crawl back home where his family were waiting to dictate the rest of his life. 

To casually hang out with Gon was easy, but to deliberately schedule the time was somehow harder. Gon was a spontaneous person, he’d show up out of the blue to drag Killua to lunch but it was rare for him to make plans ahead of time. Generally, he wasn’t big on texting or calling and tended to forget his phone at home when he went hiking or to one of his many clubs. 

Killua felt, sometimes, as if he needed an excuse to reach out. What if Gon was busy? (He was never too busy for Killua.) What if it was a bad time to talk? (It was never a bad time.) What if Gon already had plans? (Sometimes he did - Gon tended to overschedule, in Killua’s opinion.)

Or maybe the problem was just that Killua didn’t know how much was too much? All those rumors about them as freshmen - what did Gon think about them? He’d never admitted, to Killua or anyone else, that he saw the rumors as a problem or was offended by them in any way. Generally, he’d laughed them off or said he didn’t care. But, he’d reached out less and less often as time went on. In Killua’s mind, he was probably a bit uncomfortable with the implication that the two of them were, or should be, an item. Anyone would be, right? 

And besides that, he couldn’t possibly want to spend ALL his time with Killua. Gon wasn’t like Killua, he had a lot of friends from his clubs and classes and he was constantly being invited out to things. His friendships seemed more casual, less deep. At least as far as Killua could tell. Killua didn’t want to inflict himself, his _endless_ loneliness, on Gon when Gon wanted space for other friendships. So, he kept the distance that Gon had put between them. 

But he wasn’t going to call out of any of these sessions. He’d take any excuse. 

***

“How is it you guys managed to take _more_ damage this week with more fighters?” Leorio complained at the end of their session. “And on a random encounter on the road, too. You’re all lucky I’m a healer character, no one else in this party has Constitution worth a damn.”

“Sorry, everyone,” Alluka said glumly. She’d gotten a particularly bad roll on a wild magic side effect, and what had been meant as a simple multi-target fire spell had rebounded not just on her, but on the whole party for triple damage. 

“It happens,” Kurapika said. “That’s the drawback to the warlock class, and to that spell in particular.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” Gon said. “I thought it was cool how you turned into a dragon and roasted everyone. That was dope…”

“Yeah, it was just an unlucky roll sis,” Killua said. “By the odds, you still made the right call.”

“Thanks for making _me_ look like the asshole, guys,” Leorio said. “Alluka, I was just joking… it’s a long-running joke for me to make fun of these assholes for not caring about their health and always needing me to patch them up. I wasn’t calling you out.”

“Oh, okay,” Alluka said, cheering up. “Thanks, Leorio.”

“You’re welcome… Anyway, what do you guys want to do?” Leorio asked. “It’s a cold night in the dead of winter, and you all have injuries that need to be attended to. I can only heal two of you right now.” 

Kurapika nodded approvingly, Leorio had remembered to track his spell slots this time. “Can we make it to the nearest town for a long rest?” he asked. “That would probably be the wisest choice.”

“As long as we don’t run into anything else on the road,” Killua said. “Besides, Gon is too injured to travel.” In fact, Killua’s character had been injured more, but he wasn’t going to bring that up. 

“I can make a shelter in the forest if I’m healed,” Gon said, “It’s one of my skills…. We should probably just sleep out here.”

“In the cold?”

“I can turn into a dragon again, and keep someone else warm… maybe even a couple people warm if they sleep next to me,” Alluka offered. "I’m still warm from the battle… I’ll be like a space heater.”

“Oh yeah, and I can turn into a bear!” Gon said. “I’ll be fine too.”

“I have a concealment spell that will keep us hidden during the night,” Kurapika observed. “Though it’ll mean Leorio will have to use his other healing spell on me, unfortunately.”

“What’s unfortunate about that?” Leorio said. “You get hurt, I heal, that’s how it works.” 

“What about me?” Kilua said. “I’m just a human… and I’m bleeding. The temperature’s below freezing, that’ll cause my blood vessels to narrow and restrict blood flow. My heart’s gonna be working overtime to circulate the blood through my body, I could easily die in my sleep during the night. Oh, and when the temperature drops below freezing the blood doesn’t coagulate as well either. Most trauma patients die from bleeding out in cold temperatures.”

“All of that is medically accurate,” Leorio said, “But also, I question how it is you always know the most morbid shit.”

“You’re just jealous of my wide-ranging medical knowledge, old man.”

“Damn straight I’m jealous, some of us actually need to study this shit...”

“I’ll keep you warm, Killua,” Gon said. “I’ll be like a big hairy blanket, we can stay together for warmth. I’ll be on one side, Kurapika and Leorio can lie next to Alluka on the other side. If we’re all in the shelter together, we should be warm enough.”

“Works for me,” Leorio said. “So, who am I healing?”

“Gon and myself,” Kurapika said. “Alluka’s injuries aren’t as serious and Killua can do basic first aid on himself. As long as he stays warm, he should be fine.”

“That work for you, Killua?” 

“...Sure,” Killua said. He was still questioning why he was cuddling Gon in this scenario. Why not Alluka instead? 

But, it was kind of a cute image, so he wasn’t going to say anything.

***

They settled in for the night. Despite Killua’s serious injuries, he’d managed to pass the perception and investigation checks to find them a hidden clearing where they could rest. Gon turned into a bear, and used his strength to uproot several trees and arrange them into a lean-to. With Alluka in dragon form in front of the lean-to, blocking the wind, and Gon in his bear form in the back, radiating heat, it was, as promised, quite warm. Kurapika settled into a meditative posture, preparing to cast his concealment spell through the night. Leorio lay down next to him, exhausted from the effort of fully healing two idiots who didn’t care enough about their own safety. 

Sometime in the middle of the night, Kurapika noted that Gon’s bear spell had begun to reverse. At his level, he could only keep it up for four hours at a time; and he’d already been a bear for an hour before they’d all gone to sleep. 

Sometime past midnight, Gon returned to his normal human form and felt the cold seeping in. He pulled Killua closer, worried for his friend’s injuries - what Killua had described as “the triad” of Hypothermia, Acidosis & Coagulopathy. Killua, seriously injured, didn’t wake up but instinctively moved closer to Gon (according to Kurapika). The two of them stayed tangled together for the rest of the night, as close to Alluka’s side as they could fit in the small, enclosed space. 

***

“What the hell, Kurapika,” Killua said, blushing furiously. “Stop making things up about my character!”

“Don’t you think that’s how it would have happened?” Kurapika said. “You’re the one who’s always making things more realistic. You convinced me, hypothermia is a serious risk for your character right now.”

“Well yeah, but I should get a say in this!”

“I forgot the bear spell would be reversing,” Gon said thoughtfully. “But I like how this turned out better… yeah I think this is way better than if I’d just stayed a bear.”

“Me too,” Alluka said helpfully. “Stop overthinking things brother, it’s a cute story.”

Killua buried his head in his hands. He’d been so right. Gon _was_ out for him and Alluka too. Even Kurapika was on their side. He’d never felt this outnumbered in his life. 

Leorio patted him on the back. “Just accept it, man,” he said kindly. “Gon said he likes it.”

“Is that true, Gon?” Killua asked from between his fingers, not looking up. “Do you like this?”

Gon took Killua’s hands in his, gently tugging them away from his face and forcing Killua to look away, biting his lip, to avoid Gon’s eyes. He was afraid of what he’d see there. 

Gon brought Killua’s hands to his lips, and kissed them. Then he laced their fingers together and swung their joined hands in a circle, drawing Killua’s eyes back to his. Once he saw Gon’s gentle expression, he couldn’t look away. 

“Yeah, you dummy,” Gon said warmly. “I _love_ this.”

***

In the end it was that simple. With Alluka’s blessing, they were officially a couple by the end of the week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to the (super) talented folks in the Killugon zine discord who helped me to brainstorm this, and come up with everyone's play styles. Thank you Davi, Jo, Flat-san, Autumn and Munen! You guys rock! 
> 
> The zine is currently accepting preorders until Feb 29th, you can order it here: https://gumroad.com/milestoneszine. Unlike this story, it's an all-ratings zine so take care when placing the order. 
> 
> Comments appreciated, thank you in advance <3


	3. School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The promised Leopika chapter arrives! :D
> 
> ***
> 
> “Can I get the mushu pork, but on the rice noodles instead of the lo mein? ….Kurapika! You’re alive!” 
> 
> Kurapika couldn’t believe his rotten luck. He’d been trying to avoid his friends until after his exams were over, and instead he’d run into the busiest busibody of them all less than fifteen minutes away from his apartment. 
> 
> “Hey, Leorio,” he said dully. Leorio patted the seat next to him on the bench in the little takeout place. Since Kurapika couldn’t think of a good excuse, he sat. He really didn’t feel like talking to anyone right now, but from experience he knew it would be easier to bide his time until his order was ready, and pretend to be social, than to try to argue with Leorio about it.

”You two are disgusting,” Leorio told them. “You’re giving me hyperglycemia, I hope you can pay for my medical bills when I get diabetes.”

“Thanks Leorio,” Gon replied from where he was currently draped over Killua, squeezed together on an oversized armchair in Leorio’s living room. “That means a lot, coming from you.”

“I swear my pee is gonna turn sweet,” Leorio groused. “Who knew the two of you would turn out like this?”

“I did,” Alluka chimed in. “Brother always talked about Gon the most when we talked on the phone.” 

“Stop calling me out,” Killua complained while Gon laughed and tightened his grip around his neck, giddy. “I don’t appreciate having my secrets exposed like this.”

“You exposed them yourself, brother. It just took you forever to realize it.” 

“I love all of you,” Gon said while Killua blushed and bit back a retort. “Thanks for being gay allies.”

“Duh!” Alluka said, while Leorio raised his mug of coffee in a mocking salute. 

“Speaking of allies, though… where’s Kurapika? I owe him,” Gon said. Kurapika’s improvised commentary on their game had given Gon an opening to confess to Killua, something he'd been wanting to do for a long time. He'd held back mostly because he'd wanted to respect his friend's space - the distance he sometimes seemed to want to put between them. But after talking it over with Alluka, Gon had realized how much he'd misunderstood the situation - all along, it had been _Killua_ who'd wanted to respect _Gon's_ space! 

It was a mix-up straight out of a romantic comedy. But if it had taken a long time for them to admit their feelings for each other, they were making up for it now, and Gon was currently loving the results: when the dam finally broke loose ALL the water had rushed out, as blood, straight to Killua's cheeks, which was adorable. He had a new favorite game, to invade Killua's space as often and obviously as possible, and make him blush. He called it 'operation tomato juice'. 

“That stupid overachiever cancelled on us,” Leorio said. “Something about a big test coming up. I told him he has all of next week to study for it, but no, he’s gotta be first in his class or he’s failed. I think he’s trying to prove something to the professor.”

“School does come first,” Alluka said, dutifully. 

Gon never would have considered studying for an exam for five days straight and cancelling all his social events to do it, just the thought stressed him out. But then, he wasn’t enrolled in a competitive law school that graded all its students on a curve and only gave As to the top 10%.

“Yeah, but he’s putting too much pressure on himself. I keep telling him that none of this matters,” Leorio said. “He’s already in a top school, as long as he passes the classes and lands the right internships it doesn’t matter what his GPA is.” Gon nodded vigorously, his GPA was in the pits but he didn’t care in the least as long as he got to hang around campus for four years (with Killua) and leave with a degree at the end of it. 

“It somewhat matters,” Killua said absently, ruffling Gon’s hair, “If he wanted a Big Law or Finance job. But that’s the opposite of what he wants.” 

“Exactly!” Leorio said. “For the kinds of jobs Kurapika wants, his conviction and do-gooder attitude matters more… well, and his willingness to live the rest of his life with law school debt. But you know that idiot doesn’t listen to us.”

“Really?” Gon says. “He listens to me sometimes…”

Killua watched with interest as Leorio spluttered, amused by their DM’s obvious need to be respected by everyone but especially by the one person in their friend circle who was notoriously picky about who could earn his respect. “That’s because you have a way with people, babe,” he said to Gon, obviously goading. This was Killua's playful mood, he loved to twist the knife. Leorio glowered but there was nothing he could say to that without calling Killua out. 

Should Gon defend Leorio? He pondered. On the one hand, Leorio was good people. But on the other hand, it was fun to watch his friends play verbal hockey. 

“Brother, that’s mean,” Alluka said. “Leorio is good with people, too.” Killua frowned, he'd been caught. 

Next to him, Gon just laughed. 

***

After they’d all gone home, Leorio put the game map away and poured himself a drink. He was more worried about Kurapika than he’d let on, but he hadn’t wanted to disturb the game with his concerns in case they turned out to be unfounded. 

This wasn’t the first social event Kurapika had cancelled recently. He hadn’t told the rest of the group, but they’d also had plans to watch a movie together last week, and further plans to shop for Kurapika’s adopted mother’s birthday on Friday. Both cancelled by Kurapika at the last minute, for the same reason of supposedly needing to study. 

Leorio understood the pressures of a heavy academic workload - you better believe he understood it, as a second year med school student - but he also understood that sometimes you needed to take a break, to unwind from the stress and let your mind rest, or at least use a different part of your brain from the part you used for school. Just piling on more stress and cutting yourself off from your friends was not the answer. 

But he had a test coming up himself, and unlike Kurapika who had until Friday, his was on Tuesday. With a sigh, Leorio poured what was left of his coffee into his drink and took his improved caffeinated cocktail up to his room, where he had a date with 2x speed youtube videos on stage 4 cancers for the rest of the night. 

***

“Kurapika’s not coming today again, huh?” Gon said. 

They were chilling waiting for the pizza to arrive, the same as they’d done the first time Alluka had come over. She was due to go back to her own school on Saturday, so this would be her last time playing with the group for a while, unless she used a video chat app. 

Leorio bit his lip. He’d hoped Alluka’s last game would be enough to lure Kurapika out of his self-imposed academic isolation, but it didn’t seem like that would happen. He was honestly very worried, the last time he’d heard anything from Kurapika had been before the fateful Friday exam. Since then, all his text messages went unanswered (and unread) and all his calls went straight to voicemail. 

“Is he OK?” Alluka wondered. Bless her, Leorio thought. It was her last game, but she was more worried about one of her brother's friends, whom she'd just barely met. 

“He’s done this before,” Killua told her. “When he gets into school mode, he ghosts everyone. Don’t take it personally.” 

“I wasn’t,” Alluka said. “But Leorio is worried…”

“Yeah, because Kurapika is a self-destructive idiot,” Leorio said. “I don’t care how many tests he has coming up, he can spare an evening to see his friends.”

“That’s how _you_ handle stress,” Gon pointed out. “By getting everyone together and forgetting about school for a while. Kurapika is different.” 

“That’s pretty smart, for someone who likes to play dumb,” Killua told him. Leorio squinted at him, but unlike last time it seemed this was a sincere compliment directed at Gon and not a secret dig directed at himself. 

“Maybe we should cancel this week?” Alluka wondered. “It seems like everyone is busy.”

“Absolutely not,” Leorio told her. “It’s your last week playing, and we have to take down the Dragon Prince, right? I spent a whole half hour prepping for this campaign. It wouldn’t be right to do it without our favorite dragonborn Princess on hand to help us infiltrate the castle and stab the Prince in the back.”

Alluka radiated joy and happiness at the mention of being a Princesses; and cheered at the mention of backstabbing. Killua smiled. That was his sister. 

***

Kurapika blinked, groggily. What time was it? In front of him, his laptop had gone dark, probably entering sleep mode shortly after Kurapika himself. 

He moved the mouse to wake up the laptop, and his studio apartment was illuminated by the faint reddish glow of his screen with a color-correction sleep aid program installed. Kurapika grunted,annoyed. He found the controls for the program and turned it off. A bright blueish-white light lit the room, as intended. 

It was currently 4am. That was bad, he’d only meant to take a short nap, but instead he’d been asleep for 6 hours, since 10pm. 

On the bright side, since his sleep cycle was about three hours he probably hadn’t woken up in the middle and should be sharp enough to get a few extra hours of study time in before he had to get ready for class at 7am. 

Kurapika dragged his fingers through his hair, annoyed with himself. He’d made a mental promise to himself, that he’d use the time left until exams to study on a strict schedule. His schedule included breaks for lunch and dinner, and an hour for exercise in the mornings (he’d never been much of a believer in breakfast). While it wasn’t the end of the world for him to have fallen asleep, he’d been in the middle of a case study and couldn’t remember anything he’d read so far. Now he’d have to start over from the beginning. 

Kurapika stifled a yawn, and turned on the lights. He winced as the bright LED lights illuminated his on-campus studio apartment, it was truly a mess. He been so focused on study, he hadn’t had time to clean or do his laundry in weeks. There wasn’t any food garbage lying around - he’d die before he let it get that bad - but every mug he owned was stacked on his desk with coffee rings at the bottom, and his laundry pile was overflowing from where it was stacked at the end of his bed and spilling onto the floor. When this next set of exams were over, he promised himself he’d clean the entire apartment. After sleeping probably a full 24 hours. 

Kurapika rolled his neck slowly, letting the muscles pop, then settled in to finish his case study. He despised this class, but that wasn’t going to stop him from acing it. 

Alas, he remembered after about the first minute that his professor sent updates via text and that he’d have to check his phone to make sure the class wasn’t cancelled today. It took him a bit of time to find the phone under a stack of papers on his desk, and then longer to wait for it to charge and power on. The wasted time was adding to his anxiety about the class, but there was nothing he could do about it. 

Eventually, the phone turned on. He confirmed that class was not cancelled today, and ignored the other messages. He’d get to them later, when he had more time and social energy. 

By habit, before he set the phone back on the charger he absently opened one of the visual novels he’d downloaded for study breaks. He ended up reading detective fiction and playing cell phone games in a mindless trance for all three hours until it was time to get ready for class. 

He was a complete mess right now, and if he went to class, his professor would see it and also, probably, realize that he hadn’t done the readings. Kurapika decided to skip lecture, just this once, to catch up on sleep and finish his homework. 

***

Kurapika couldn’t believe it. By the time he’d dragged himself out of his room (having finished THREE case studies, including next week's), and down the block to the dining hall, dinner was already over. 

He was kicking himself, the dining hall was the most convenient place to eat by far. Now he’d have to go out, in January, to pick up Chinese or something because while his studio did have a kitchen, there was no way he could spare the time or energy to cook right now. 

Kurapika sighed. Since his apartment was only a block from the dining hall, he hadn’t bothered with socks and was only wearing a light jacket, and he was cold. He wanted to give up and go back to his apartment, but there was nothing in the fridge, and he was hungry. He prepared himself mentally for the walk through the snow to the takeout Chinese place. 

***

“Can I get the mushu pork, but on the rice noodles instead of the lo mein? ….Kurapika! You’re alive!” 

Kurapika couldn’t believe his rotten luck. He’d been trying to avoid his friends until after his exams were over, and instead he’d run into the busiest busibody of them all less than fifteen minutes away from his apartment. 

“Hey, Leorio,” he said dully. Leorio patted the seat next to him on the bench in the little takeout place. Since Kurapika couldn’t think of a good excuse, he sat. He really didn’t feel like talking to anyone right now, but from experience he knew it would be easier to bide his time until his order was ready, and pretend to be social, than to try to argue with Leorio about it. 

“So, how have you been?” Leorio said. 

“Fine,” Kurapika said shortly. “You?” 

“Shitty,” Leorio said. “I have the most important test of my life coming up and if I spend any more time in my room staring at my books I’ll go crazy. On top of that, my good friend’s adorable kid sister is leaving at the end of the week but I can’t reach my other friend to invite him to her going-away dinner.”

“Oh,” Kurapika said. “Sorry. I’ve been busy.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Leorio swiped his hand through the air as if to physically wave away the objection. “You’re busy, I’m busy. We’re all busy. But _I_ know how to answer my phone.” 

Kurapika could feel his torpor lifting a little bit, but only because he was angry. “Are you feeling better after nagging at me?” he said. “Because if it’ll help you, I could stick around so you can make me feel worse about myself some more.”

“I’m not… fine. Sorry for being a nag. I’m just worried about you, Kurapika.”

“Thanks, but you don’t have to worry,” Kurapika said. “I just need to get through this month, and then everything will be normal again.”

“Mmmm,” Leorio gave him a speculative look. “Where are you studying? In your room?”

“That is the most convenient place,” Kurapika said dryly. 

“Try going somewhere else,” Leorio suggested. “You’re like a tiger at the zoo, pacing back and forth in your cage.”

“Thanks, but I can’t focus on reading when I’m in a room where people are talking. The only acceptably quiet place on campus is the law school library reading room, and it’ll be way too crowded at this time of year.” 

“What about the computer lab in the Ed school building? I never see anyone in there…”

“Ugh, don’t remind me. That used to be my favorite study spot, but one of the student workers there keeps trying to talk to me. I think he has a crush on me.”

“Or he could just be friendly…”

“Either way, he won’t leave me alone when I’m studying and it’s annoying.”

“Noted,” Leorio said, with a strange smile on his face. “Well then, what about…. The fifth floor of the med school library? The one where they keep the dental records. No one is ever up there except weirdos like you, trying to avoid others. I swear it’s the emptiest library on campus” 

“I’ll let that weirdo comment slide, but only because we’ve known each other for so long,” Kurapika said dryly. “And I think I tried studying there once, but the noise from the fluorescent bulbs drove me crazy.”

“They make noise?”

“Yeah, you can’t hear it? And they flicker constantly, too. I feel like I’m in a horror movie when I’m up there, it’s like an abandoned hospital wing about to be torn down.”

“I’ve never really spent much time there,” Leorio confessed. “It kinda gives me the creeps to be somewhere so empty.”

“You see,” Kurapika said smugly. “I bet they put those lights in on purpose, to keep everyone away.”

“Why don’t you just come back to my place?” Leorio blurted out. Kurapika rolled his eyes. “No, I’m serious! It’s not your room, it’s not a crowded cafe, and it’s not a creepy library. It’s quiet and the lights won’t hurt your eyes. No one will hit on you or bother you. Plus, that way I can keep an eye on you and make sure you’re alive.”

“I was never going to be dead, don’t exaggerate.” Kurapika said. “But…” 

He wanted to shoot the suggestion down, on reflex, like he’d shot down all the others. But Kurapika hadn’t kept up his grades in high school, then undergrad, and then entered a top ten law school by being completely unself-aware. He could recognize that he was in a bad mental space right now and being contrary for the sake of being contrary, and that he’d need to change something about his approach to get out of it. Leorio could be annoying, but they’d also known each other long enough to be comfortable around each other, so he wouldn’t have to put up a draining front. 

“Fine,” he said. “But let me get my coat first.”

***

Leorio’s roommate waved from the couch as they entered the house. The friend he’d brought over, an improbably hot girl in a crop top and pajama pants, was too occupied with the water pipe to wave but gave them an acknowledging nod. 

“Yo, dude.”

“Yo! Here’s your Chinese, dude.” 

Kurapika hung back, embarrassed. He’d only met either of Leorio’s roommates once and making small talk with stoners was the last thing he wanted to do right now. He wondered if he could sneak out the back door and walk home while Leorio was occupied with his roommate and roommate’s guest. Knowing Leorio, he’d be way too interested in the blonde girl to notice Kurapika’s absence. 

The only flaw in his plan was that Leorio was carrying both of their takeout orders, so he’d have to go back to the Chinese place on the way home, and spend more money on top of the money he’d already spent. It all sounded like a hassle. Kurapika’s self-loathing was increasing again, none of this would have happened if he’d just walked to the dining hall on time like a responsible adult. 

“Sorry about this,” Leorio told him, coming back to Kurapika after about a second of conversation with his roommate. “But hey, my room will still be quiet. You ready?”

Kurapika couldn’t believe it. Was this the Leorio he knew? Passing up the chance to get stoned with a girl who looked like a yoga instructor slash part time model? He felt he should have a witty comment for this, but he didn’t want to embarass Leorio in front of his roommate, so he just nodded.

“Great,” Leorio said. “You’ll finally see my study cave. Prepare yourself for some serious study vibes.”

This was closer to the ridiculous person he knew. Kurapika rolled his eyes. “Lead on, fearless leader,” he said sarcastically. “Good to meet you guys,” he said to the people on the coach, even though he technically hadn’t met them. He got a wave and nod for his troubles, then followed Leorio up the stairs. 

***

Leorio stepped out of the way of the doorway, letting Kurapika take in the view of his bedroom. He hadn’t been exaggerating: his room was a serious study cave. 

On the back wall, medical posters and diagrams took up most of the space, but he also had a few game maps up and his favorite nerdy poster, a complete diagram of Middle Earth. A bookshelf took up part of one wall, filled with medical books and game manuals. He’d taken out the overhead light, and replaced it with dim floor lamps and a few diffusers. The window sill was covered in knick knacks, candles and incense sticks. 

Noticing the direction of Kurapika’s gaze, he shrugged. “My roommate has the room across the hall,” he explained. “I like pot too, but not as much as he does. When I’m studying I want a more neutral smell.”

Kurapika nodded, this made sense to him too. Overall, the room was surprisingly clean and organized. Leorio’s desk contained his laptop and a few notebooks. “Can I look?” He asked. 

“Sure, I’m actually really proud of my notes,” Leorio told him. Kurapika picked up the nearest notebook. It was covered in small, neat letters that were totally incomprehensible to him. He squinted.  
Some kind of shorthand?

“That’s actually Quenya,” Leorio said sheepishly. “You know, elf language? From Lord of the Rings? I brought that one over from high school, I was a bit of a nerd back then.”

“Why’s it on your desk?” Kurapika asked, curiously. He wasn’t about to get on Leorio’s case for being a nerd, he was a nerd too. 

“I dunno, I just find it really relaxing to look at. It’s just a way to rest my eyes, you know? After watching one too many youtube videos on deadly diseases in a row… “

Kurapika nodded, and picked up another notebook. This was was recognizably a notebook owned by a medical student. Next to a neatly defined terms page, he found a complete diagram of the circulatory system covered in lead lines and annotations. He flipped the page. The diagram actually continued on the next page, with arrows pointing back to the previous section. He flipped the page back and forth. It connected in a satisfying way. 

“That’s one of my better drawings,” Leorio told him. “The others are messier.”

“It’s surprisingly artististic,” Kurapika told him. “I’m surprised by everything in this room.”

“Studying is tedious,” Leorio told him, “So I try to make it more enjoyable in any way I can. Speaking of…. “ He pulled a rolling cart out of the closet. It was covered in bottles and glasses. “You want something?” he asked. 

“No, thank you,” Kurapika said. “I prefer to study with a clear head.” He tried to keep the judgement out of his tone, but probably some slipped out anyway. Leorio just laughed. 

“Suit yourself,” he said, taking a swig straight from the bottle. “But just so you know, not all of these are alcoholic. Some are just energy drinks or ciders. I have herbal tea too.”

“I’m fine with water,” Kurapika said. “Thank you for asking.”

“One water, coming up.” Leorio said, saluting. Kurapika watched him pour a bottle of something expensive looking into a small tumbler, and took it with thanks. He took a sip. It wasn’t plain water, there was something infused in it and it was faintly carbonated. He didn’t hate it though. 

“So…. you seem like you spend a lot of time here,” he said, awkwardly taking a seat on the bed. 

“Yeah, med school life is rough. You’re either on rotations, at class, at a crazy party getting blackout drunk with your classmates, or locked in your room with your books,” Leorio said. “The only time I ever do anything different is when you guys come over.”

“It must be hard to party so much you pass out,” Kurapika said. This time he was sure he hadn’t hidden the judgement, but Leorio just grinned. 

“Work hard, play hard is the med student motto,” he said. “When you are working, you are working, and when you are partying, you are partying. You feel me?”

“It does make sense,” Kurapika admitted. “Some of the things I do to relax are a little too close to what I do for school. Reading detective novels for instance, it’s a little too close to reading a case file. But those are my hobbies because I enjoy them, and it’s because I enjoy them that I decided to go to law school. So I’m in a bit of a bind.”

“You could come clubbing with me,” Leorio said. “I’d kill to see you out on the dance floor.”

“Maybe, Kurapika said. It sounded like hell, but he couldn’t rightfully say he wouldn’t enjoy it until he’d tried it. Maybe having Leorio there would help. He hadn’t enjoyed any of the house parties he’d gone to alone in freshman year, assuming it was something he was supposed to do as a college student. That had felt like work, not fun. 

“So, you want the desk or the bed?” Leorio asked. “Oh, but we should eat first, just let me….” he awkwardly cleared the bottles and glasses from his rolling tray, then replaced them with the takeout containers and indicated Kurapika should sit, which he did, cross-legged on the floor. Even Leorio’s floor was clean. It made him think of his own studio shamefully, but he shook the thought away. This wasn’t a contest. 

“I’ll get some plates from downstairs,” Leorio said. “You want a fork, or chopsticks?”

“Chopsticks,” Kurapika said

“Got it, be right back.” He shut the door behind him on his way out, leaving Kurapika alone in his room. 

Between the soft lighting, the candles, and the scent diffusers, it was a relaxing space. Kurapika felt his mood improving. He doubted he’d ever go this far, but maybe he needed to use his study breaks on something physical, like folding his laundry or cooking dinner, instead of digital, like his detective novels. 

It was a thought. He’d never had so much trouble studying before, but then, he’d never been under this much pressure before either. After getting out of his space, Kurapika could see that he’d been letting his anxieties about the competitive program get to him, and dealing with them in unhelpful ways. In the past he’d always been able to power through with willpower alone, but this year he was finding the limits to his willpower, so he’d need to find new ways to manage his focus.

Leorio came back, and they ate dinner in silence. Then they both sat down to work. 

***

Leorio couldn’t believe his luck. After hitting the books for a few hours, he’d hit a real wall on his concentration, and been this close to giving up and hitting the bong with his roommate downstairs. 

Though he hadn’t brought it up, he was worried about school too. His second chance at the USMILE Step 1 exam was coming up and he wasn’t convinced he’d pass it this time, either. _What kind of sadist designs an eight hour test_ , he thought, _And how can such a diabolical test have such a cheerful name?_ The exam acronym had surely been chosen just to mock harried med school students like himself. 

The fact that he’d already failed the Step 1 exam before - maybe he’d partied a little too hard freshman year? - made him more anxious about his chances of passing the second time, so to compensate he’d doubled his study time. But, there were only so many hours in a day he could stare at his books and notes. He’d agreed to go out for food just to get away from his desk for a while, and maybe get his concentration back too. 

Running into Kurapika had been a real stroke of luck. Arguing with him energized Leorio, and his serious, studious presence in Leorio’s room was calming and focusing. 

And he wasn’t bad to look at either. Leorio snuck another glance, smiling to himself; and looked away before Kurapika could catch him. 

Yeah. This was a pretty nice arrangement. They’d have to do this again sometime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to the (super) talented folks in the Killugon zine discord who helped me to brainstorm this, and come up with everyone's play styles. Thank you Davi, Jo, Flat-san, Autumn and Munen! You guys rock! 
> 
> The zine is currently accepting preorders until Feb 29th, you can order it here: https://gumroad.com/milestoneszine. Unlike this story, it's an all-ratings zine so take care when placing the order. 
> 
> Comments appreciated, thank you in advance <3


	4. Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Alluka's final game with the crew and her farewell dinner. Too bad Kurapika won't be there... or will he?

ON THE PREVIOUS SUNDAY: 

It had taken four months of hard campaigning, but they’d finally reached the lair of the Dragon Prince. 

From the rumors, the party had expected the lair to be hidden, perhaps underground. They were surprised to learn, upon disembarking from the ferry in the Republic of Padokea, that the Dragon Prince’s lair was something of a local tourist attraction. 

In fact, there was even a tour caravan set up to allow visiting royalty to travel in comfort and style to the Palace. 

“I don’t trust it,” Rouge Killua said, as their wagon wound its way through the mountains. “This is obviously a setup, there are probably spies reporting to the Prince right now.”

“But they don’t know what we look like?” Alluka offered. “After all, we bought that anti-scrying artefact in Cassadora for a reason.”

“Yeah, you worry too much Killua,” Gon said. “Just relax and enjoy it!”

“And you don’t worry enough!” Killua retorted. “At least if Kurapika was here, he could have cast a passive spell to see if anyone was trying to mess with us with magic.”

“Yeah, it’s too bad he had that essay due this week.”

“In character replies only,” Leorio reminded them. “We’re trying to make this special for Alluka’s last session.”

“It’s okay,” Alluka said. “You guys have known Kurapika longer than me,”  
“And we’ll have more time with him after you go back to school, but for now, this is your time Princess,” Paladin Leorio said gallantly, taking her hand and kissing it with a wink while Killua glowered. 

“Yeah, we’re going to need your help to sneak into the palace,” Rouge Killua said, gently removing the paladin’s hand with a dirty look. The man was such a flirt. 

“Kurapika couldn’t make it because he was… uhh… held up in town on personal business... Something about needing to check the archives for something,” Gon said. 

“Let’s steal him some rare spell books from the Dragon Prince lair,” Alluka suggested. “I think he’d appreciate that.” Gon agreed enthusiastically and they began to discuss what kinds of books Kurapika would like. Killua sometimes couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have _two_ saintly beings in his life. 

“It’s a good thing Kurapika taught us his native language, so we can discuss our plans to infiltrate the Palace in the open,” Gon said, continuing to get into character. “The last time we tried to make a secret plan, it took thirty minutes just to explain where everyone would be standing in thieves cant.”

“Yeah, thieves cant is good for short messages but it’s not really meant as a daily language,” Killua said absently. “That time was genius though, it was smart of you to hide the escape plan in a list of forgery techniques.”

“Hehe, thanks, I got the idea from the time you made us check who was a member of the harper’s guild using song lyrics.”

“If you two are done mutually appreciating each other,” Leorio said pointedly, “We should come up with a plan for what we’ll do when we reach the Palace.” 

Just then the wagon hit a pothole, as if to emphasize that it was still moving and they were running out of time to plan. 

(And also, running out of time in their session before Leorio had to kick them out to study.) 

“It’s hard to plan without knowing the layout of the Palace,” Barbarian/monk/druid Gon observed. “I say we just wing it, as usual.”

“Works for me! You guys take forever to plan,” Paladin Leorio agreed.

“And me too,” warlock Alluka agreed. “I’ve been feeling GREAT ever since I leveled up in acrobatics, I bet I can scale the wall before the guards even notice we’re there.”

“You can fly,” Killua reminded her. “You don’t need to scale the walls. If there even are walls.” 

“Oh yeah…”

“What about disguises?” Gon said. “We haven’t done disguises in a while.”

“Why do we need disguises when they don’t know what we look like?” Killua pointed out rhetorically, more to move the conversation along than anything. He was noticing a decided shift in the way they played the game with Kurapika gone; and also that he, a planner, was currently outnumbered by three pantsers. He had a feeling they’d be chaotically storming the doors this week, and was resigning himself to doing damage control. 

“I don’t know, it just sounds like fun.” Killua rolled his eyes, affectionately of course. 

“What if we were in disguise… as ourselves?” Alluka asked. Everyone turned to look at her, and she blushed but met their curious gazes. 

“I mean… we’re dressed as an adventuring party right now. What if that was a disguise? What if I’m actually...a Princess?”

“You are a princess,” Killua told her. “The prettiest Dragon Princess in seven kingdoms.”

“Thanks brother… I mean, thanks Killua the Rouge. But what if I’m an important Princess, and Gon and Leorio are my vassals? Then I’ll be taken directly to the Dragon Prince, and you can sneak around in the shadows like you love to do and check everything out while we distract him.”

Killua grinned. “SHe’s the BEST sister,” he boasted to Gon and Leorio. 

“I mean, the best Dragon Princess. Lucky thing we ran into her on the road before, we needed a smart beautiful Princess like her to keep you jugheads in line.”

“Yeah, lucky thing. Oh, the wagon is stopping.”

As the wagon ground to a painful halt on the muddy road, Gon, Killua, Leorio and Alluka peered out from the carriage to get their first view of the lair they’d been journeying for four months to reach. 

In front of them, a massive iron gate blocked the road. Behind it, a huge mountain loomed, taking up the majority of the view.

“I think I can see the palace at the top of the mountain,” Gon said, using his druid senses. “But it’s kind of small? I’m not sure how all the treasure is going to fit.”

“It’s probably the entire mountain,” Killua observed. “Look at that cliff over there, you can see a path going from the bottom to the top. And entrances at both ends.”

(You’re a better artist than I thought, he told Leorio as an aside. Which test did you bomb to draw this? None brat, Leorio told him. This is a hobby, it’s relaxing. Anyway I copied it from the game manual.) 

“Oh, wow…” Gon said. “Then it’s huge!” 

“Yeah, good thing Alluka came up with a plan,” Killua said. “Imagine trying to navigate the passages inside a mountain that large without knowing where we were going. We’d have been on this campaign for another four months.”

“The camp with the dragon’s eggs was supposed to take months, but you goblins cleared it in a single session,” Leorio observed. “I mean. Yeah. Let’s go get the Dragon Prince!!!”

***

IN THE PRESENT, ON THE FOLLOWING FRIDAY: 

“It was a great session,” Leorio told Kurapika as they sat in the kitchen, drinking tea just after midnight. “I’m going to miss Alluka. She left her Skype login, though, so we might try doing the next session remotely.”

“She’s already back at school?” Kurapika asked. 

He was sorry he’d missed her last time playing with the crew, but if he could still catch her privately…

“Well, the farewell dinner was after the game on Sunday, but I don’t think she’s hitting the road until later today. She said she wanted to avoid the Friday afternoon traffic.” 

“Oh…”

Leorio grinned. “Want me to text Killua? I bet he’d jump on a second going away dinner, or maybe a going away lunch, especially if we meet somewhere with dessert.”

“I’m not sure… it’ll depend on how I feel after my final. Which is. In about ten hours…” 

“You feeling okay about it?”

Kurapika thought about it for a moment, and then smiled. “Actually, yeah. I was banging my head against it, but think I know what I’m going to write for the timed prompt.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah… I’ll write about the power of social bonds in native communities.”

Leorio clinked his glass with Kurapika’s. “Sounds excellent.”

“Let me walk you back to your dorm, then. You should get some sleep.”

“Yeah… “ Kurapika said. He seemed to wrestle with himself a little, trying to decide how much to say. Leorio wasn’t expecting an outpouring of gratitude - Kurapika was a private person - but he was pleasantly surprised by how gracious Kurapika had been, once they’d broken the initial wall of his stress-imposed isolation. It was cute to see him struggling like this, and it gave Leorio some hope that in the future, they could finally get beyond the first stage of being casual friends. They’d known each other long enough, Leorio thought. 

And apparently Kurapika had the same thought, because we he finally spoke up, it was to ask: 

“Next time, if I brought a pillow…. Can I stay the night?”

***

The dinner (early dinner - at 4:30pm) was full of good cheer. Killua dressed nicely, Gon wore a “Sad? Try Fresh Air and Sunshine” shirt from his hiking club, and Alluka wore a cute purple hoodie with a slightly creepy blank eyed smiley face on it and dark jeans. 

Kurapika showed up fifteen minutes later, looking exhausted but content.

“How was the test?” Gon asked, moving his chair over to make room. He pushed himself up against Killua, who blushed but took his hand under the table. Her stupid brother was making so much progress, Alluka thought. She was proud of him, she knew he tended to overthink everything and be far, far too cautious. 

Gon had that effect on all of them, though - he was so freespirited and spontaneous that it was easy to be relaxed and at ease around him. 

Meanwhile, the other uptight member of their group - 

“I won’t know until the results are posted on Monday,” Kurapika said primly. But then he smiled, blindingly. “...but I think it went all right.”

“Just all right?” Leorio said, teasingly. “I rescued you from cold chinese alone in your dorm room for ‘all right’” 

“It went great,” Kurapika said. “I learned many things last night. Such as that two people can share one pillow, if they like each other enough.”

While Leorio spluttered, Kurapika casually picked up a menu. 

“So,” he said, cheerfully. “Have we ordered yet?”

Alluka watched the two pairs of couples bicker playfully about what to order. She felt, for the first time since their first session, slightly left out, although she was happy for everyone. 

Then Killua turned away from Gon to ask if she wanted to split the nachos as an appetizer, and Gon gushed about the seafood, and the two of them competed to describe the menu in increasingly ludicrously terms (you’ll die if you eat it, it’s so good! If you try the melon, you’ll perish, come back, and die again!) and the feeling passed. 

Alluka smiled, feeling warm and included. And she ordered the nachos with seafood on top, to split with her brother and Gon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to have Illumi show up in this chapter and there would be Family Drama, etc, but in the end I decided to just keep it light and fun (and more importantly, to wrap up this story so I can focus on my hxh big bang story XD). 
> 
> I consider this universe still open though, so I might write a sequel or a sidestory in the future. Also, if anyone *else* wants to write a story in this universe (though I'm not sure why anyone would), I think that would be really cool, XD. 
> 
> Comments appreciated as always, thanks for reading <3


End file.
